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Returning: The Hour

A new series of BBC drama The Hour begins on ABC1 in January.

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A new series of BBC drama The Hour starring Dominic West begins on ABC1 in January.

The series on BBC new current-affairs show in 1956 picks up in November 1957.

A year has passed since The Hour was unceremoniously taken off air, and much has changed. Freddie (Ben Whishaw) has been fired and gone travelling, while Bel (Romola Garai) stayed to try to keep The Hour afloat. Enter new Head of News, Randall Brown (Peter Capaldi) – all eyes are on him as a force for change.

Hector (Dominic West) has become a national celebrity and – ignoring his marital problems – is drawn to the seductive glamour of Soho nightclub El Paradis. El Paradis is run by Raphael Cilenti (Vincent Riotta), charming but ruthless. His lead showgirl is Kiki Delaine (Hannah Tointon) – beautiful, talented and utterly beguiling. Hector finds her hard to resist.

In the newsroom, nuclear hysteria is growing around the Soviet launch of Sputnik 2. During a heated team meeting, Freddie appears – he’s Randall’s new addition, designed to stir up the team. Bel feels undermined because she wasn’t told of his return, but is also pleased to have back the friend she has missed. Hector is also angry when he discovers that Freddie will be co-host of The Hour. And it seems foreign reporter Lix (Anna Chancellor) and Randall have a shared past…

Despite the friction, the old team are reunited. Bel harnesses Freddie’s maverick enthusiasm to cover a crime story and, when Hector brings them an unexpected tip off, the trio find themselves with a potential scoop which could outdo new ITV rival program, Uncovered.

9pm Thursday, 3 January ABC1.

3 Responses

  1. The hour never really worked.

    Unlike Mad Men the characters were never believable as being of the period. They were totally modern BBC type characters trapped in the 1950s. West character was terrible and there was no chemistry between him and Garai so the love triangle aspect never worked.

    The espionage plot with Fred was just plain silly, hardly Le Carre.

    Over Summer when there is nothing good on is a good time to show the second season.

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